It is an object of the present invention to control the plane orientation of crystal grains obtained by using a laser beam, into a direction that can be substantially regarded as one direction in an irradiation region of the laser beam. After forming a cap film over a semiconductor film, the semiconductor film is crystallized by using a CW laser or a pulse laser having a repetition rate of greater than or equal to 10 MHz. The obtained semiconductor film has a plurality of crystal grains having a width of greater than or equal to 0.01 μm and a length of greater than or equal to 1 μm. In a surface of the obtained semiconductor film, a ratio of an orientation {211} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor film including a plurality of crystal grains over a substrate; wherein a grain size of at least one of the plurality of crystal grains has a width of greater than or equal to 0.01 μm and a length of greater than or equal to 1 μm, and wherein, when a direction vertical to a surface of the substrate is defined as a first direction and a plane in which the first direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a first plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the first plane, a ratio of an orientation {211} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°.
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor film comprises silicon.
3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor device is at least one of the group consisting of a thin film transistor, a driver circuit, a power supply circuit, an IC, a memory, a CPU, a memory element, a diode, a photoelectric conversion element, a resistive element, a coil, a capacitor element, an inductor, a pixel, a CCD, and a sensor.
4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor device is used to manufacture at least one of the group consisting of a thin film integrated circuit device, a camera, a reflective projector, an image display device, a head-mounted display, a navigation system, an audio reproducing device, a portable information terminal, a game machine, a computer, and an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium.
5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein a Raman shift peak of the semiconductor film is observed in 516 to 518 cm −1 , and a variation of the peak is less than or equal to 20% in a coefficient of variation.
6. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor film including a plurality of crystal grains over a substrate; wherein a grain size of at least one of the plurality of crystal grains has a width of greater than or equal to 0.01 μm and a length of greater than or equal to 1 μm, wherein, when a direction vertical to a surface of the substrate is defined as a first direction and a plane in which the first direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a first plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the first plane, a ratio of an orientation {211} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°, and wherein, when a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate and crystal growth of the plurality of crystal grains is defined as a second direction and a plane in which the second direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a second plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the second plane, a ratio of an orientation {110} is greater than or equal to 0.5 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°.
7. The semiconductor device according to claim 6 , wherein the semiconductor film comprises silicon.
8. The semiconductor device according to claim 6 , wherein the semiconductor device is at least one of the group consisting of a thin film transistor, a driver circuit, a power supply circuit, an IC, a memory, a CPU, a memory element, a diode, a photoelectric conversion element, a resistive element, a coil, a capacitor element, an inductor, a pixel, a CCD, and a sensor.
9. The semiconductor device according to claim 6 , wherein the semiconductor device is used to manufacture at least one of the group consisting of a thin film integrated circuit device, a camera, a reflective projector, an image display device, a head-mounted display, a navigation system, an audio reproducing device, a portable information terminal, a game machine, a computer, and an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium.
10. The semiconductor device according to claim 6 , wherein a Raman shift peak of the semiconductor film is observed in 516 to 518 cm −1 , and a variation of the peak is less than or equal to 20% in a coefficient of variation.
11. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor film including a plurality of crystal grains over a substrate; wherein a grain size of at least one of the plurality of crystal grains has a width of greater than or equal to 0.01 μm and a length of greater than or equal to 1 μm, wherein, when a direction vertical to a surface of the substrate is defined as a first direction and a plane in which the first direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a first plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the first plane, a ratio of an orientation {211} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°, and wherein, when a direction vertical to the first direction and crystal growth of the plurality of crystal grains is defined as a third direction and a plane in which the third direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a third plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the third plane, a ratio of an orientation {111} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°.
12. The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the semiconductor film comprises silicon.
13. The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the semiconductor device is at least one of the group consisting of a thin film transistor, a driver circuit, a power supply circuit, an IC, a memory, a CPU, a memory element, a diode, a photoelectric conversion element, a resistive element, a coil, a capacitor element, an inductor, a pixel, a CCD, and a sensor.
14. The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the semiconductor device is used to manufacture at least one of the group consisting of a thin film integrated circuit device, a camera, a reflective projector, an image display device, a head-mounted display, a navigation system, an audio reproducing device, a portable information terminal, a game machine, a computer, and an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium.
15. The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein a Raman shift peak of the semiconductor film is observed in 516 to 518 cm −1 , and a variation of the peak is less than or equal to 20% in a coefficient of variation.
16. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor film including a plurality of crystal grains over a substrate; wherein a grain size of at least one of the plurality of crystal grains has a width of greater than or equal to 0.01 μm and a length of greater than or equal to 1 μm, wherein, when a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate and crystal growth of the plurality of crystal grains is defined as a second direction and a plane in which the second direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a second plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the second plane, a ratio of an orientation {110} is greater than or equal to 0.5 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°, and wherein, when a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate and vertical to the second direction is defined as a third direction and a plane in which the third direction is coincident with a normal vector is defined as a third plane, in plane orientation of the semiconductor film in the third plane, a ratio of an orientation {111} is greater than or equal to 0.4 within the range of an angle fluctuation of ±10°.
17. The semiconductor device according to claim 16 , wherein the semiconductor film comprises silicon.
18. The semiconductor device according to claim 16 , wherein the semiconductor device is at least one of the group consisting of a thin film transistor, a driver circuit, a power supply circuit, an IC, a memory, a CPU, a memory element, a diode, a photoelectric conversion element, a resistive element, a coil, a capacitor element, an inductor, a pixel, a CCD, and a sensor.
19. The semiconductor device according to claim 16 , wherein the semiconductor device is used to manufacture at least one of the group consisting of a thin film integrated circuit device, a camera, a reflective projector, an image display device, a head-mounted display, a navigation system, an audio reproducing device, a portable information terminal, a game machine, a computer, and an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium.
20. The semiconductor device according to claim 16 , wherein a Raman shift peak of the semiconductor film is observed in 516 to 518 cm −1 , and a variation of the peak is less than or equal to 20% in a coefficient of variation.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 17, 2010
November 15, 2011
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